Russian fighter jet flies within 10 feet of Navy aircraft

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September 7, 2016 11:15PM (UTC)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says that a Russian fighter jet flew within 10 feet of a U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft, in what officials called an unsafe intercept over the Black Sea.

Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, says the Russian SU-27 Flanker fighter made the unsafe maneuver Wednesday near a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft that was conducting routine operations in international airspace.

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The Russian jet conducted four intercepts of the Poseidon, and the one that was considered unsafe lasted about 19 minutes. Russian jets have occasionally flown close to other U.S. aircraft and Navy ships in the region. In one more dramatic incident earlier this year, Russian jets buzzed over the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea, coming within 30 feet of the warship.